A man in Alcester was in for a surprise when it was realised the bowl he had used for ten years as a bird bath, was really a precious Roman artefact.

Ray Taylor had dug the bowl up in his garden when planting rhubarb, and used it to create a DIY bird bath.

But a museum has now revealed that the bowl is one of the most complete Roman bowls discovered in the last 50 years.

A man in Alcester was in for a surprise when it was realised the bowl he had used for ten years as a bird bath, was really a precious Roman artefact. A museum has now revealed that the bowl is one of the most complete Roman bowls discovered in the last 50 years

WHAT IS A MORTARIUM?

A mortarium was a type of Ancient Roman pottery kitchen vessels.

The bowls were used for pounding or mixing foods and are an important indicator of the spread of Romanized food preparation methods.

Stamps on some early Roman mortaria record the name of the potter, from which it is possible to trace their movement between workshops.

Mr Ray said: 'Ten years ago I found it when I was digging in my garden and I didn't think very much about it at the time.

'I thought it was just an old bowl so I just stuck it outside as a bird bath.

'It was only later that my daughter Rebecca had been down to the museum and said to me, "You ought to go down to the museum and see if they're interested."

'I thought it was a good idea so I put it in my garage ready to take but it ended up rotting there for about two years because I forgot all about it.'